Tempers flared during a heated Paris Masters semi-final between Karen Khachanov and Frenchman Ugo Humbert as the former criticised the behaviour of his opponent.
Humbert, the 15th seed, rallied back from a set down to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final in a 6-7(6) 6-4 6-3 epic.
However, the win was overshadowed by an unfortunate injury sustained by Khachanov in the deciding set, and the Russian was not pleased about Humbert's over-the-top celebrations knowing the circumstances.
"At the net, I told him to be more respectful. He has no idea how to behave," said a furious Khachanov after the match. "I always play fair. I'll congratulate him when he behaves like a normal person.
"I have no problem with celebrating with the crowd, but if you see your opponent injured... Did you see me yesterday jumping and celebrating every point against Grigor? And Dimitrov wasn't even injured, just very exhausted.
"You can celebrate after with the people, you can do whatever you want, and injuries are part of the sport. However, celebrating in this way when the rival is on the ground? Fine, we'll see next time."
During his final service game to hand Humbert the victory, Khachanov could barely move as he succumbed to a crushing exit.
The 28-year-old revealed the severity of his injury, but his 2024 season is already over due to his withdrawal from the Metz 250 event.
"I felt sharp pain in three different points. Tomorrow I will evaluate myself and see the extent of the injury. Right now, I don't know anything, perhaps it's a micro-tear or something more serious, we'll see."
There was also controversy in the second set when Humbert served with a set point on his racquet, handed a time violation by the umpire after waiting for the crowd to quiet down.
"What are you doing? I was ready," Humbert told the umpire. "If I have six (seconds), I'm ready. I was waiting for them.
"You cannot do that. Stay focused man. Just be smart."
Humbert will face world No.2 Alexander Zverev in tomorrow's final.
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